


Firelight

by sara_sedai



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Kiss, Friendship/Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 06:42:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16759990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_sedai/pseuds/sara_sedai
Summary: Captain Janeway and Chakotay share a few moments alone on a planet at the end of an away mission.Note: This is my first A03 post :)





	Firelight

He watched Kathryn sitting by the fire. The trade negotiations were almost done, and it was the away team’s last night on this small planet. Kathryn sat quiet and pensive by the fire pulling paper-like tendrils of bark off a stick and tossing them into the flames. Each tendril would sparkle with colour as the fire consumed it, usually a gold colour, which often had hints of blue or purple. The crew had moved away from the fire to where the drumming and dancing celebration would be, which the locals were putting on to celebrate the end of the trading sessions. The last of the crew had just moved on, leaving only the two of them by the fire.

Kathryn glanced up at him, and he took it as an invitation to join her. Settling on the stone beside her he offered her more of the brandy-like substance that the people of this planet drank as if it were water. “No, I’m good,” she said, flicking another piece of bark into the flames. “Fuchsia.”

He shook his head. “Purple.”

“It bordered on red — it was fuchsia,” she asserted.

Shaking his head he conceded. “Fuchsia.” He loved her tenacity. He also hated it. He thought this over a moment; hate was a strong word, but she really did have a way of obstinately clutching to an idea and never letting it loose.

“Did you hear the Delaneys talking this evening?” he asked, watching her fingers work at a particularly stubborn bit of bark. The two sisters had gotten into a heated debate over whether or not kissing was cheating because Jenny had kissed one of the away team members and she was currently dating a crewman in Engineering. Chakotay figured it was only an issue because Megan had a crush on the crewman.

She laughed. “Yes, I did.”

“So, what do you think? Is a kiss cheating?”

“It depends.” She smiled as her fingers finally dug the stubborn bit of bark out. Flicking it in the fire they both watched as it flashed a pale blue.

“Purple,” Kathryn announced.

“Blue,” Chakotay corrected. “So what is cheating for you?”

“Lying or concealing the truth,” she said turning to face him, “and it was purple.”

Again Chakotay ceded. “Purple. Was that true for you and Mark? Could he kiss someone else so long as he didn’t lie about it?”

“We’d just gotten engaged, Chakotay. I don’t think he was interested in other people at the time, but in theory, yes, it would have been fine if he’d been upfront and honest about it beforehand.”

“And the same went for you, I assume. If you wanted to kiss someone, you just had to be upfront and honest about it first?” He watched the firelight play along her left cheek, admiring the lines of light and shadow. He ached to reach out and run his fingers along her jaw line.

“Are you asking for a kiss?” she asked, her back straightening as she voiced the words. She seemed surprised by her own question. As if the words had been pulled from her against her will.

Chakotay’s breath caught in his throat. He was certain that brutal honesty would have her scurrying for cover, so he kept his voice even and countered, “What would you say if I was?”

She laughed; it sounded forced, as if she was working to make light of the situation. “Well, it would depend on the kind of kiss. Gold.”

“Gold,” he agreed without even looking, his eyes remained fixed on her face. “Then I’d ask for the kind of kiss you’d say yes to.”

She turned to face him, amused yet cautious. Unable to restrain himself, he gently reached up and traced one finger along her jawline. Her skin was soft and warm. His fingers drifted toward her lips and he felt her hand capture his wrist; her grip was strong. His heart fell. Looking down he waited for the dismissal, the reprimand, and gasped when instead he felt her lips brush against his palm. It was brief, warm, and intensely erotic. It was both more and less than he’d expected.

She released his hand and tossed the entire stick into the flame, a small fireworks display danced before them and then abruptly died. “Time to go,” she announced and headed for steady drumming that signalled the beginning of the formal celebration. Chakotay sat a moment, his eyes on the flames and his attention on his palm. It still tingled.

“Blue,” he said roughly, getting to his feet to follow her. “The last one was blue.”

“Gold,” she called back over her shoulder. “Hurry up, we’re late.”


End file.
